Rail bond



Sept- 5, 1956 A. E. BRICKMAN 2,764,435.

RAIL BOND Filed June 25. 1952 414W 5 BP/CKMQM United States Patent RAIL BOND Alan E. Brickman, Williamsville, N. Y., assignor to glnited States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New ersey Application June 25, 1952, Serial No. 295,450 4 Claims. (Cl. 28720.3)

This invention relates to a rail bond and more particularly to a rail or signal bond adapted to be fastened to the side of the head of a rail in order to transmit current across the joint between rails. Because of the location of the rail bond there is danger of the bond head being struck and damaged or broken off. Therefore it is desirable to have the rail bond protrude as little as possible from the rail head. It is also desirable to have the rail bond of such construction that it can be easily attached to the rail head. Rail bonds are in common usage and many types have been used. However, they all have certain disadvantages, either from the standpoint of fabrication, assembly or protection against damage. Also in many instances the parts of the rail bond are separable. This results in the workman, who is installing the device on the rail, omitting a part or parts necessary to the proper functioning of the rail bond.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide an inexpensive rail bond that has a unitary structure.

Another object is to provide a rail bond of such shape that it is not easily damaged.

Still another object is to provide a rail bond that can be easily attached to the rail.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to the following specification and attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, showing a rail bond in position to be attached to abutting rails;

Figure 2 is an elevation of one end of a rail bond attached to a rail head;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line III-III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view, similar to Figure 2, showing a second embodiment of my invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line V--V of Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a schematic plan view of apparatus used in carrying out the method of my invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference letter R relates to two abutting rails to which the rail bond is to be attached. As shown in Figure 1 the rail bond consists of a cable 2 having a fitting 4 at each end thereof. Each fitting 4 has a lug 6 surrounding the end of the cable 2 and an off-set body member 8 attached to one side of lug 6. The body member 8 has a rounded outer surface 10. A sleeve 12 extends inwardly from the body member 8. A hole 14 is provided in the body member 8 and extends inwardly into the sleeve 12 where it merges with a smaller diameter hole 16. A pin 18 is driven into the hole 14 or in some instances the fitting may be cast around the pin. The head of each rail R is provided with a drilled hole 20 into which fits the sleeve 12. In order to fasten the rail bond to the rail the pin 18 is driven from the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 into the opening 16, thus forcing the metal in the lower part of the sleeve radially outwardly to grip the sides of hole 20. It will be seen that this construction provides a rail bond having a minimum projection from the rail and which is protected from damage due to blows by means of the rounded surface 10.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in Figures 4 and 5 a fitting 24 is provided at each end of cable 2. Each fitting 24 is provided with a sleeve or ferrule 26 preferably made of copper and having an arc of its periphery contacting the cable 2. A die cast lug 28 surrounds the end of the cable 2 and is attached to cylindrical portion 30 of the die cast body member 32. The portion 30 surrounds one end of the sleeve 26. The lower portion of member 32 is flat and perpendicular to the axis of sleeve 26. The outer surface 34 of the member 32 is rounded. The sleeve 26 has an opening therethrough which has a maximum diameter outer portion 36 and a reduced diameter inner portion 38. The fitting 24 is fastened in the hole 20 in essentially the same manner as fitting 4.

The rail bond is preferably made as follows: A pair of cables 2 are fed through a die casting machine having four mold cavities 40, two adjacent each cable as shown in Figure 6. With one reciprocation of the plunger of a die casting machine the die casting metal is cast around each cable, thus forming four fittings 4. The cables are then moved through the die casting machine a predetermined distance and the operation is repeated. The cables are again moved through the machine the same distance as before and more fittings are cast on the cable. This operation is continued until the entire length of the cables is passed through the machine. The cable between each pair of fittings which are cast at the same time is cut off close to the fitting to form a completed rail bond. It will be understood that only one cable or more than two cables can be fed through the die casting machine at the same time. In the manufacture of fitting 24 a sleeve 6 is placed or inserted in each mold cavity in contact with the cable 2. With one reciprocation of the plunger of the die casting machine the die casting metal is cast around each cable and sleeve, thus forming four fittings 24. The operation is otherwise the same as when making fitting 4.

While two embodiments of my invention have been shown and described it will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A rail bond comprising a cable, a fitting for at least one end of said cable, said fitting having an elongated cast portion surrounding the end of said cable, an elongated cast off-set portion integral with the first named portion, said off-set portion being substantially parallel to the cable surrounding portion, said portions having co-planar flat faces adapted to bear against the rail, the opposite face of said off-set portion sloping toward the first face to form wedge shaped ends, a sleeve extending from the flat face of said off-set portion, said off-set portion having an opening therein extending from the said opposite face thereof into said sleeve.

2. A rail bond according to claim 1 in which the sleeve is an integral part of said off-set portion.

3. A rail bond according to claim 1 in which the sleeve contacts said cable and is an insert surrounded by said off-set portion.

4. A rail bond according to claim 1 including a pin in said opening, said sleeve being cast around said pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 666,403 Wood Jan. 22, 1901 900,488 Daniels et al. Oct. 6, 1908 1,369,927 Linderman Mar. 1, 1921 1,938,563 Deems Dec. 5, 1933 2,151,292 Brickman et al Mar. 21, 1939 2,283,095 Sabol May 12, 1942 2,330,483 Febrey Sept. 28, 1943 

